As a country that has long been helping Somalia to heal its wounds and develop, Turkey’s activities are not limited to delivering basic humanitarian needs, but also putting forward development and infrastructure projects and investments in the areas of education and health to accommadate the country’s self-reliance, the Turkish Ambassador says
Turkey has been helping to heal the wounds of the people of Somalia for years, spending hundreds of millions of dollars on humanitarian aid, infrastructure projects, schools, hospitals and in every other possible way.
Turkey’s Ambassador to Somalia Olgan Bekar talked to Daily Sabah during an exclusive interview about Ankara’s projects and future plans for Somalia and the current atmosphere in the country.
Turkish Ambassador to Somalia Olgan Bekar: Turkey helping build state, military, infrastructure from scratch
The ambassador, who has been in office in the Somali capital Mogadishu since October 2014, explained the reason behind Turkey’s presence and wide-ranging activities in the country.
“Turkey is here to put an end to the years of suffering endured by the people of Somalia. People used to ask us why we were here and what national interests we had in 2011 when we first arrived, but they understood the reasons in time,” he said.
Stressing that Turkey’s activities are not limited to delivering basic humanitarian needs, Bekar said that Ankara has put forward development and infrastructure projects and investments in the areas of education and health. “Taking all these into consideration, we are looking to turn life back to normal in a country where the state vanished years ago. We made a difference in the past six years, and the Somalis appreciate it,” he asserted.